


Life at Beacon Hills

by RyanInTheTARDIS



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-21 03:54:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9530441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyanInTheTARDIS/pseuds/RyanInTheTARDIS
Summary: Michael Elliott thinks that he is a fairly standard kid - he loves his Mom, he goes to school at Beacon Hills High, his best friend, Lydia Martin, is one of the most popular girls at school, and he's even gained the attention of one of the Lacrosse players. But as weird things start to happen around town, Michael finds himself coming face-to-face with the supernatural, and later learns that while he won't be howling at the moon any time soon, he certainly isn't as normal as he thought he was.





	1. 1x01 - Wolf Moon Pt.1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just me inserting an Original Character into the Teen Wolf world. It'll follow the same premise as the show, with some additional parts and tweaks.
> 
> The chapter names will go with the episode the events are concurrent with, so some episodes of the show may be more than one chapter of the story.
> 
> I am also uploading this story to my fanfiction.net account, under the same name.

_It was dark. Darkness surrounded Michael. It must've been night, as looking out the window, Michael saw more blackness, the only lights being from streetlamps and the stars. He couldn't see the moon, and guessed that it had clouded over and was hidden from sight._

_Retreating slightly from the window, he looked around at his surroundings._ 'Am I at school?'  _he thought to himself, the big chalkboard at the end of the room being a dead giveaway that he was. There was something strange about the chalkboard though – someone had covered it completely in chalk. There was nothing of the blackboard underneath, just this thin layer of chalk, as if someone had come and spent hours colouring it in._

_He stepped towards it, not thinking about why he was in this classroom or that he should probably leave before he was caught trespassing, but picked up an eraser from the teacher's desk as he passed. Raising his arm, he scrubbed hard at the chalk, and in some places it wouldn't budge, but in others it came away easily. He scrubbed a bit more, drawn to where the chalk was coming away. It soon appeared that where the chalk was rubbing off, a shape was forming. A letter – L._

_Michael continued to wipe at the board, soon revealing a second letter, E. There was some feeling in the back of his mind, he couldn't quite name it but he knew he didn't like it, but that didn't stop him wiping more off the board. Soon, a whole word had been revealed. Unable to take his eyes off the board, Michael stepped back, bumping into a desk behind him and the eraser dropped from his hands with a clatter._

_LEAVE._

_Michael turned and bolted for the door, wrenching it open and stumbling out into the hallway. He had to get out of here, now. Getting his bearings, he realised he was on the second floor, and made a mad dash for the stairs. Just before he could get down the first step, he heard a voice echoing from downstairs. A voice he was sure he'd heard before. He couldn't quite make out what it was saying, but he was sure it was getting closer._

_Feeling terrified, Michael ran for a door marked 'Janitor's Closet'. He tried to push it open, but the door wouldn't budge. "C'mon, c'mon..." he pleaded to the door, willing it to unlock._ Click.  _Michael had the door open in a heartbeat and was shocked to find himself standing on the roof. "What the…?" He turned to look behind him, and the door was gone._

_Again, ignoring the obvious, Michael ran to the edge of the roof, looking down the wall for something, anything he could use to get himself down. The clouds must've passed, as he could see his shadow cast down on the ground, the reflected light from the moon behind him. But looking slightly up from his shadow, he saw another that looked almost like a bird. A bird that was getting bigger._

_Turning around, he looked up to the moon, and saw a silhouetted winged figure gliding slowly towards him. "Michael…" The voice was no louder than a whisper, but he knew it was coming from the whatever was coming his way. As the figure grew, he could make out more details. It wasn't any kind of animal, but a person, with large, feathery wings stretching out a good 8 feet each side of him._

" _Michael," it repeated, sounding closer than before. Michael turned back to look over the edge, eyes frantically searching for an escape. And there was only one he could think of. Michael stepped up onto the rim of the building, no other option in sight._

" _Michael." The voice was right behind him now, and it startled him so much, he stumbled forward and fell from the roof._

"MICHAEL!"

As water poured over his face, Michael sat upright, coughing and spluttering. He wiped the water from his eyes and found his mother, Kathleen, looming over him, an empty glass in hand. "If you'd wake up when I first shout, this wouldn't be necessary," she chided, setting the empty glass down on Michael's nightstand.

"Yeah, but don't you think drowning me is a bit of an excessive next step?" Michael glared up at her.

"Maybe, but I gotta get my kicks somewhere." With a grin, she turned and made for the bedroom door. "Breakfast's ready in 15, so hurry up or your bacon is mine!"

Michael scowled as she left the room, but a huge smile soon broke out on his face. "Love you, Mom!"

"Love you too, Mikey!" she called back from the hall.

Throwing the covers off, Michael jumped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom, showering as quickly as he could, before dressing himself in blue jeans, and an open yellow plaid shirt over a grey t-shirt. He styled his short blonde hair into messy spikes, slipped his blue-framed glasses over his chocolate-brown eyes, then gathered what he'd need for school in his bag before heading downstairs, following the smell of bacon into the kitchen, where Kathleen was pushing food around in a couple pans.

"Punctuality is still great, but your waking up in the morning is still God-awful," she teased, casting an eye to her son as he walked into the room.

"Drowning me isn't going to make me wake up better though, just stop waking up at all," Michael replied, dropping his bag by the door and sitting on a stool.

"Maybe you have a point there," Kath smiled, dishing up a plate of food and sliding it over to Michael. He smiled gratefully to her before grabbing a fork and starting to eat, enthusiastically scarfing down his breakfast.

By the time Kathleen had started to eat her own breakfast, Michael's was half gone. "Will you slow down, you're gonna choke on a hash-brown and that is no way for any son of mine to die." At that, Michael gave a half-laugh-half-cough and nodded at his mother.

"Sorry, I just don't wanna be late, it's the first day back at school," Michael said, stabbing a piece of bacon with his fork.

"But you've never been late for school?" Kathleen questioned, raising an eyebrow at her son as she popped some egg into her mouth.

"Exactly, so I don't wanna start now," he grinned. As they finished their breakfast, they talked about the day they each had ahead of them, only stopping when it came time for Michael to leave for school. He put his now empty plate in the sink, grabbed his bag, kissed his mom on the cheek and headed out into the porch.

He quickly pulled on a hoodie and shoved his feet into his rollerblades, put on pads and a helmet and was soon out the door, skating down the sidewalk towards school. When he arrived, he was still 5 minutes early, which thankfully for Michael, was enough time to plonk himself down on a bench and get his skates off.

As he pulled a pair of dark red sneakers out of his bag and jammed his feet into them, a shadow fell over him. He looked up and saw a red headed girl in a dark blue coat and a large purse hanging from her elbow.

"Y'know I'd give you a ride to school if you wanted me to," she said, smiling down at him.

"Yes, I know Lydia, but I don't think Jackson would be too happy about it, do you?" As if by cue, the obnoxious rev of the aforementioned boy's Porsche rang through the air. Lydia turned on the spot and looked to where her boyfriend was getting out of his car and seemed to stare down a boy at his bicycle. "See? No-one can escape that scowl." Michael rose to his feet, and earned himself a slap on the arm from Lydia

"As if it's any of his business who I give rides to school. And be nice, he's a sweetheart really," she said, eyes not coming off Jackson.

"That's just the Stockholm Syndrome talking," Michael teased, and got a harder slap from Lydia. "Will you stop hitting me?" he groaned, rubbing his slightly sore arm.

"Come and find me later, I gotta talk to you about something." With that, she was walking off again, heading up towards a school, managing to turn a boy's head as she passed but completely ignoring him.

Michael sometimes wished boys looked at him the way some of them looked at Lydia, but then again, he didn't have her confidence. He'd have to get her to teach him sometime. Then maybe he'd manage to turn a few heads too.

Pushing that thought away, he headed inside too, hurrying to his locker to dump his skates and gear, then hurry off to the first class of the day.

* * *

Michael seemed to be the only one in his class who was surprised to hear that a dead body had been found in the woods the previous night, but as soon as the teacher had said that the police already had someone in custody, he didn't see any more need to worry about it. Intending to head to the library during his free-period, Michael spotted Lydia down the hall, (unsurprisingly) hanging off Jackson's arm, and both of them were talking to a pretty brown-haired girl.

As he walked closer, Lydia spotted him and waved him over, so the library was going to have to wait. "Hey," he greeted the three as he closed in, earning smiles from the girls, but an eye-roll from Jackson. "What?" Michael asked, faking a shocked tone as he daintily raised a hand to his chest.

"How many colours are you wearing?" Jackson asked, looking Michael up and down with an offended eye.

"Not enough to contain all this fabulousness," Michael said flamboyantly, putting his hands on his hips for extra emphasis. This made Lydia and the other girl laugh, but Jackson just became even more sour-faced.

"Dude, why do you have to be so…" he trailed off, knowing that the word he planned to use could make him sound very bad.

"So what, Jackson? Why do I have to be so… gay?" Michael teased further. "Maybe it's because I  _am_  gay."

"Danny's gay and he doesn't act all limp-wristed like that," Jackson retorted, glaring at Michael.

"Yeah, well, Danny's a sporty dude and that probably overrides his homo-genes or something. I don't know, I'm not a scientist." Michael waved his hand dismissively.

Jackson seemed equally as done with the subject as he looked to Lydia. "C'mon I got practice, let's go." Jackson began to pull Lydia away, and they seemed to have convinced the other girl to go with them as she was following.

Michael was about to turn the other way and head to the library when a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. He turned to see Lydia grinning back at him, taking her hand off Michael's wrist and letting it fall back to her side. "I guess I'm coming too then," Michael sighed quietly as he walked with them.

Jackson and Lydia were walking together, and the other girl fell back to walk beside Michael. "So she pulls you along into things too?" she asked, reaching up to tuck a long curl of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, but given how long I've known her, I've gotten used to it," Michael answered, giving the girl a smile. "Michael Elliott," he said, holding a hand out to her.

"Allison Argent," she responded, taking his hand and lightly shaking it. "You handled Jackson well," she commented, looking to the back of his head.

"He's never malicious, I just think his mouth runs ahead of his brain sometimes," he grinned, speaking in a low voice so Jackson wouldn't hear. "So I'm gonna assume you're a new student here, as I'm pretty certain I've not seen you around before."

Allison nodded. "Got here pretty recently, not had a lot of time to settle in yet." She didn't sound sad, but Michael had never been the new kid before, so could only imagine what it must feel like being in a completely new town where you didn't know anyone.

"Well, if you need a hand with anything, give Lydia or me a shout. I'm happy to help, and I'm sure she'd agree too," Michael said with a smile.

Allison smiled widely. "Thanks."

As they stepped outside, Michael pulled his hoodie tighter around him, and walked with Lydia and Allison to a small set of bleachers. Jackson had left them to go change, and was now out on the field in his lacrosse gear.

Michael stared out across the field at the players, wondering what it might be like if one of them took their strong hands off of their sticks and onto him. While some of the players he could imagine a night of passion with, there were others who he'd want to just sit and talk and get to know. Like the cute boy sat on the side-line with the close-shaved head. Michael recognised him as the boy Lydia had snubbed this morning. He definitely seemed more Michael's type. Not too beefy, but not weak or weedy, cute in the face with an adorable smile. But given that he always seemed to be more interested in Lydia, and therefore almost definitely straight, Michael had never said a word to him. He didn't even know his name.

"Who is that?" Allison's soft voice broke Michael from his thoughts, and he followed her eye line to see her looking at the boy in goal.

"Him?" Lydia questioned, looking at the same boy and tilting her head. "I'm not sure who he is. Why?"

"He's in my English class," Allison said with a small shrug.

Suddenly, the whistle was blown, and the boy in goal seemed to start having a fit, he was holding his head and shaking. Which soon stopped when one of the boys lined up to shoot beaned him in the head with the ball and knocked him out flat. Michael stifled a laugh, but did feel slightly sorry for him.

The boy then got back to his feet, in a shocking twist of events, easily saved the next handful of balls to fly his way. "Wow," Michael whistled, impressed with the ease the boy seemed to be catching the balls.

"He seems like he's pretty good," Allison commented, clearly just as surprised.

"Oh, very good," Lydia agreed.

Someone in the line-up to shoot then pushed their way to the front, and by the arrogant swagger, Michael could only assume it was Jackson. He was still for a moment before running at the goal, jumping up and shooting.

The boy caught Jackson's shot. The boy on the bench Michael had been staring at earlier leapt to his feet cheering, as did Lydia. Michael rose as well, and gave the goalie a congratulatory holler. Then just to show off, he shot the ball behind him into the crosse of the referee, and Michael had to give another whoop.

* * *

Michael stayed with Lydia and Allison through the rest of the practice, the three of them swapping between watching the sport and talking to Allison, getting to know the new girl.

"There's loads of single boys on the lacrosse team, you'll soon have them asking after you," Lydia said to Allison, smiling slyly at the other girl. "And now that I mention it…" her voice trailed off as she turned to look at Michael, causing him to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What?" Michael said, becoming more confused by the moment.

"Jackson told me that someone on the team has been asking about you." Her I-know-more-than-you-do smile was starting to irritate Michael, but he had to admit that he was surprised to hear this.

"Oh?" Allison chimed in, leaning forward slightly to look around Lydia at Michael. Her smile was just as wide as Lydia's, and Michael couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly too.

"Jackson's probably just being a jerk," Michael said, trying to brush it off.

"I'd be inclined to agree with you, if the one who asked him about you hadn't also asked me about you too," Lydia teased, no doubt enjoying the way Michael was starting to squirm.

"Okay, who is it?" Michael asked, the curiosity getting to him. Lydia pointed out to the field, and Michael saw she was pointing at the boy who was now coming out of goal. He reached up for his helmet and pulled it off, and Michael recognised him as Danny. "Him?" Michael asked, casting a side-ways look at Lydia. "Danny asked about  _me_?" He looked back to Danny and saw the other boy was now looking towards them. His eyes met Michael's, and he gave the blonde boy a small wave. Michael could feel the heat rising in his cheeks and sheepishly waved back to the lacrosse player.

"Oh, so cute," Lydia sighed, reaching to gently pinch one of Michael's cheeks.

"Shush you," Michael said in a hushed tone, and pushed Lydia's hand away.

"It is kind of adorable though," Allison smiled at Michael.

"Whose side are you on?" Michael challenged, looking pleadingly at Allison.

"Sorry, it is," she replied, holding her hands up defensively.

"Yes, it is. He also wanted me to give you this." Lydia reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a folded scrap of paper, handing it to Michael. The blonde unfolded it to see a neatly written phone number, as well as the words 'Text me your favourite movie?' Michael's face flushed even redder. "We're clearly not the only ones who think you're a cutie," Lydia said, Allison nodding her agreement.

"Oh," Michael rose to his feet, looking down at the two girls. He glanced back towards to Danny, who was still looking back at him. He quickly looked back to Lydia and Allison, worried Danny might see how red he looked. "Shut up." Michael shoved the scrap of paper into his pocket and rushed off, deciding he'd go find a quiet corner of the library to try and study in, and ignore the heavy feeling the scrap of paper was weighing him down with.

 


	2. 1x01 - Wolf Moon Pt.2

Michael was glad that day one of school seemed to have gone off without a hitch. As soon as they had sat down for dinner, Kathleen had begun to grill him about his day, and as he told his recount, he realised he’d had a pretty good day. Workload had started off light, but he was sure it would begin to pile up soon, he’d managed to spend time with friends as well as make a new one in Allison.

Being the nosy mother that she is, Kathleen was also quick to ask if there were any boys at school that Michael liked the look of. It was only then that he remembered being given Danny’s number by Lydia. As soon as he’d settled himself in the library, it completely slipped his mind, until now. He gave his mother the most vague, non-committal answer he could think of, offered to wash the dishes, and was quick to busy himself in the kitchen before she could push the subject further. Kathleen must’ve picked up on the signs, as she took herself up to her bedroom so she could get ahead on her elementary school planning.

Dishes all done, Michael reached into his pocket and pulled the folded scrap from his pocket with wrinkled fingers. Leaning against the counter, he unfolded it and read it over and over. His other hand hovered over the pocket holding his phone, unsure of whether to take it out and follow the instruction. With a sigh, he shoved the scrap back into his pocket, made himself a mug of hot chocolate, and retreated upstairs, deciding he’d do some assigned reading or something.

After a couple hours, Michael had abandoned his assigned reading in favour of the next novel in a fantasy series he’d gotten into over the holiday. Another hour later, and he’d made a good dent in it. But the phone number in his pocket was still weighing on his mind. Marking the page, he set the book down and pulled the paper from his pocket again.

It wasn’t that Michael thought Danny was unattractive and that was why he hadn’t text him yet. In fact, he thought Danny was very handsome, and it wasn’t hard to imagine being in the older boy’s arms as they danced or did… other things. But that only ever happened in his imagination. Michael saw them as nothing but fantasies. He was finding it seriously hard to believe that Danny was actually interested in him.

He didn’t think that he was particularly attractive or anything, and definitely not on Danny’s level. Lydia thought he was cute, but she was Michael’s best friend so she has to think that. Danny was probably the first actual other gay guy to show an interest in Michael, not counting straight boys trying to pull a mean joke, or testing themselves on Michael to see if they were gay or bi. He was pretty sure Danny had never shown any interest in him before, but maybe he just hadn’t been looking.

Swallowing back his worries, Michael reached for his phone, keyed in the number, and stared at the keys for a moment, trawling his brain for his favourite movie.

‘ _Alien_ ’

A few moments later, Michael’s phone buzzed in response.

**‘ _what?_ ’** Was Danny messing with him? Was he playing it off like he hadn’t given Michael his number, or had he been even more mean and given him the number of some random guy who had no idea who he was.

‘ _You told me to tell you what my favourite movie was. It’s Alien._ ’

**‘ _oh!_ _sorry was really confused for a moment :P_ ’**

**‘ _isn’t that a scary movie?_ ’**

Michael couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. Perhaps this wasn’t the joke he first thought it was.

‘ _Yeah, and it’s in space. Y’know, “In space no one can hear you scream”?_ ’

**‘ _haha i’m not much of a scary movie fan_ ’**

**‘ _bit of a wimp really_ ’**

‘ _Big muscly guy like you? Nah, I don’t believe it. :P_ ’ Michael hoped his attempt at flirting went down as well as he hoped it would.

‘ _So what about you, what’s your favourite movie?_ ’

**‘ _hehe thanks ;) hmm… promise you won’t laugh?_ ’**

‘ _Cross my <3_’

**‘ _the lake house_ ’**

‘ _Okay, that’s cute._ ’

**‘ _what can i say, i’m a sucker for romance_ ’**

‘ _I’d have pegged you more as a Fast and the Furious guy?_ ’

**‘ _oh god no the idea of watching that just made me cringe_ ’**

‘ _Haha, I’m with you on that one. :)_ ’

**‘ _would you wanna be with me at the party friday night too? ;)_ ’**

‘ _Ooh, smooth. ;)_ ’

‘ _Lydia’s roped me into helping her set up, so I’m definitely gonna be there._ ’

**‘ _think you’ll be able to tear yourself away from party management to have a dance with me? ;)_ ’**

‘ _Hmm… I think I could spare a couple minutes for you. :P_ ’

**‘ _looking forward to it :)_ ’**

‘ _Hehe, cool_ ’

The moment Michael set his phone down, he regretted sending that last message. ‘ _”cool”?_ ’ he questioned himself ‘ _God, I’m a complete idiot…_ ’ Groaning audibly to himself, he rolled over and did a quiet scream into his pillow.

* * *

Michael had spent all of Friday afternoon helping Lydia dress her back yard for the party, but when they discovered that Lydia only had a handful of solo cups left, the duty fell on Michael to walk to the store to get more. Even though Jackson could easily have picked some up on his way over, but Michael wasn’t bitter about it, not at all. Not that it mattered now, he had the cups now, and was nearly back to Lydia’s.

As he was heading up the steps to Lydia’s front door, over the quiet thump of music he heard a voice calling his name. Turning around, he saw that it was Allison, and with her was a boy with tan skin and messy brown hair.

“Hey Allison,” Michael smiled at her in greeting. “Who’s this?” he asked, looking to the boy beside her.

“ _This_ is the pro goalie from the other day, Scott,” she replied, looking between Michael and Scott with a smile.

“Oh, with the mad reflexes?” Michael questioned, glad to be able to put a name and face to the boy who had blown everyone else out of the water at the practice. “Nice to meet you, I’m Michael.” With a smile, he offered his hand out to Scott, who shook it firmly.

“Nice meeting you too,” Scott smiled, and Michael had to admit, it was a nice smile.

“Not been here a week, and you’ve already got a cutie on your arm. Good work, girl,” he teased Allison, causing both her and Scott to blush. “Have fun, you two.” Michael turned and hurried up the steps and inside, the music growing much louder once he crossed over the threshold.

“There you are!” Lydia dashed out from the kitchen, snatching the pack of cups out of Michael’s hand. “I’ve had to get the crystalware out and they’re $150 a piece!” Michael followed her back into the kitchen, rolling his eyes slightly.

“Sorry, sorry, but I’m here now. Don’t you have any cheap glasses?” Michael questioned, leaning against a counter as Lydia tore open the plastic packaging.

“That is not the question you should be asking; the question you should be asking is ‘What am I gonna get Lydia as a thank-you for setting me up with a hot boy?’” Lydia said with a smirk before turning and heading into the back yard.

The music was even louder out here, and Michael found it slightly hard to move between the people dancing and drinking. Lydia was moving swiftly though, and snatching glasses out of the hands of some people and handing them a cup in replacement. “I think the question you should be asking is “how am I gonna thank Michael for getting me these cups at the last minute?”’ Michael replied.

“Well,” Lydia started as they reached a table of drinks. It was covered with crates of beer, bottles of spirits and soda, as well as several bowls of chips. “I could make you your first drink, but somebody’s beat me to it…” Lydia was looking past Michael now, and following her gaze, he saw that she was looking over at Danny, who was standing at the far side of the pool. He was talking to Jackson, and had a cup in each hand, one being his own and the other, Michael assumed, was for him.

Michael’s stomach fluttered slightly, and he turned back to Lydia. “You’re 100% sure that this isn’t some prank Jackson’s pulling, right?” he asked, wishing he didn’t worry so much.

“Of course I am!” Lydia crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Michael. “Jackson can be mean but he would never be _that_ mean. And I told you, Danny spoke to me too, so it hasn’t all come from Jackson. Now go over there, tell Jackson I wanna talk to him,” Lydia had stepped forward now, and was fixing Michael’s t-shirt, picking off pieces of fluff and hair, “and then you and Danny can get well acquainted, okay?”

Michael couldn’t stop himself from smiling at Lydia. “Thank you,” he said before quickly dipping his head to kiss Lydia’s cheek.

“I know, I’m amazing,” Lydia smiled, before putting her hands on Michael’s shoulders, turning him around and pushing him in Danny’s direction.

Michael’s feet quickly took over and carried him the rest of the way over. He only had a short time to worry about how he was dressed. His blonde hair was in messy spikes again, and he had the same blue-framed glasses he always wore, but was tonight dressed in a red-sleeved baseball tee, distressed dark grey jeans and black sneakers. In an effort to make himself feel more comfortable, Michael pulled the sleeves of the shirt slightly up his arms, leaving them just below his elbows.

“Hey,” Michael said, getting both Danny and Jackson’s attention. “Lydia said she wanted to talk to you about something?” he directed at Jackson, who cast a glance over the pool to where Lydia was now talking to Allison and Scott.

“Sure she does,” Jackson said, rolling his eyes as he took a large sip of his drink. “Try not to gay Danny up too much.” With that, Jackson pushed past Michael and made his way over to Lydia.

“Not sure there’s much you can do to ‘gay me up’, I’m already definitely gay,” Danny joked, which comforted Michael somewhat. “Here,” he said, holding out one of the cups to Michael, who took it gratefully.

“Thanks.” Without even looking at the contents, Michael took a deep drink, making him cough slightly. “Wow, that’s strong,” he said, transitioning from coughing to laughing.

“Oh, sorry, Lydia told me what you liked, but I mixed it. I can get you another, if you-“

“No, no,” Michael said quickly, not wanting to give Danny the wrong impression. “It’s fine. Thank you for making it for me,” he smiled, and got one in return from Danny. He watched as Danny took a sip from his own cup. “I’m guessing you didn’t drive here then?”

Danny smiled, shaking his head. “Jackson brought me in,” he answered, looking over Michael’s shoulder to where Jackson and Lydia were now dancing closely.

“That was strangely kind of him,” Michael teased, eying Danny over the rim of his cup. The boy was wearing a tight, dark green, short-sleeved t-shirt, and dark blue jeans. “You look nice tonight,” he commented, not wanting his looking at Danny to come across as creepy.

Danny chuckled. “Thanks. You’re looking pretty good yourself,” he said, moving to step a little closer. Michael could smell Danny’s aftershave now, and it smelled as good as he looked. “So have you got any more little jobs to take care of, or are you free to enjoy my company now?” he asked, a playful smile on his face.

“Well, I should probably go and make sure that no-one’s screwing around upstairs,” Michael joked, looking back to the house. “But it’s not my house, so Lydia can deal with that.” With a grin, Michael took Danny’s hand and pulled him towards the small crowd of dancing teens.

Once they started to join in on the fun and as more alcohol went in his system, Michael began to lose track of time. He noticed Jackson and Lydia had slipped away from the crowd, and Jackson had Lydia pressed against the wall as he kissed her neck. He also spotted Allison and Scott dancing away, ignoring the rest of the crowd.

Looking back to his own partner, he felt Danny’s hands on his waist, gently pulling him in closer. Michael lifted his arms up around Danny’s neck, looking up at the slightly taller boy with a playful smirk. He could feel the heat of Danny’s body radiating off him, and he suddenly noticed how dry his mouth felt. This only became more of an issue when he realised that Danny was leaning in to kiss him.

‘ _No, not like this!_ ’ “Hey,” Michael started, bringing his head back slightly, earning a confused look from Danny. “How about I get us another drink?” Danny’s confused look dissolved into a smile and he nodded, letting his hands slip from Michael’s waist so he could leave.

Michael hurried over to the table of refreshments. He was pretty sure he could remember what Danny had been drinking as he filled the two cups. He took a couple big gulps of his own before starting to make his way back over to Danny, mouth feeling much less dry.

Yet again, he struggled to make his way through the crowd. Having to dodge elbows and suck in breath to squeeze between people, he gingerly made his way through the crowd, spilling as little of the drink as he could. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice someone swinging their arm, catching Michael squarely in the back. As be began to fall forward, he was reminded of his dream. But he wasn’t falling off a building this time. He was falling into Lydia’s pool.

He had just enough time to suck in some air before he hit the water. The pool water was cold, and the chill immediately choked the air from his lungs. Twisting around in the water, Michael tried to orient himself. Reaching out, he felt the bottom of the pool, so twisted to put his feet against the bottom and pushed up, breaking through the surface of the water, immediately beginning to cough harshly.

He heard a several shouts of his name, and felt a strong hand on his arm, pulling him. Suddenly there were arms under his shoulders, hoisting him out of the pool. Finally on solid ground, he coughed up the last of any water he swallowed, starting to shiver as water dripped off his body. He pulled his glasses off, the water on the lenses making it just as hard to see as if they hadn’t been on anyway, and wiped at his eyes.

“Dude, you okay?” Michael turned towards the voice, seeing Danny on one knee over him, having been the one who pulled Michael out of the pool. Lydia was also stood nearby, looking worriedly down at her friend. Everyone else stood around him seemed to be looking at him with amusement. Michael could feel the heat rushing to his face.

“C’mon.” Danny offered his hand out to Michael, who took it and allowed himself to be pulled up. Once up, he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep himself warm, but he couldn’t stop himself shivering. Feeling like a total embarrassment, Michael turned and hurried inside, running through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into the guest bedroom that he would sometimes stay in when he and Lydia would have late study sessions.

Not caring that he was soaked through, Michael sat himself on the edge of the bed. He rocked back and forth, trying to warm himself up, but he continued to just sit there, cold and dripping. He wiped his eyes again, some of the drips being tears. ‘ _God, Danny’s gonna think I’m a total idiot, I’m never gonna hear the end of this, I’m-_ ’ He was startled from his thoughts by a knock at the door.

“Michael?” It was Danny’s voice on the other side. The last person Michael wanted to be seen by. “Michael, are you in there? Lydia said you probably would be.” ‘ _Dammit, Lydia,_ ’ Michael scowled.

“I-I’m in h-here,” Michael managed to get out through chattering teeth. Slowly the door opened, and Michael glanced over to see Danny stepping in. “C-come to t-tell me to d-delete your number?” he asked quietly, looking down sadly at his wet legs.

“I came to bring you a towel,” Danny said as he walked over, and Michael felt a warm fluffy towel draped around his shoulders. “And I brought your glasses up too.” Michael heard them being put down on the bedside table. “Are you okay?” he asked, crouching in front of the blonde boy. Michael couldn’t stop the small smile appearing on his face at how caring Danny was being.

Michael gave the older boy a nod. “Freezing c-cold and my dignity took a h-hit, but I’m f-fine.” The shivering was starting to fade, the warmth of the towel beginning to seep in.

“Take your shirt off.”

“Excuse me?!” Michael blurted, blushing brightly.

“It’s soaking wet and keeping you cold, take it off and you’ll warm up faster,” Danny said, laughing gently.

“Oh.” Michael really needed to stop embarrassing himself. Standing up, he let the towel fall from his shoulders, reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, tossing the wet garment aside.

Danny had picked the towel up again, and lifted it back around Michael’s shoulders. “There,” he said quietly, rubbing the towel up down Michael’s arms. “That better?”

Michael looked up slightly to meet Danny’s eyes. “Yeah,” he answered softly with a nod. His arms had been trying to cover up his body, but now his hands were drifting slowly to rest against Danny’s chest. “Thank you,” he whispered, not caring that Danny seemed to be leaning in closer.

“Anytime.” Michael’s eyes closed as Danny’s lips met his own, hands sliding down from Danny’s chest, along his toned stomach to rest on his waist. Danny had one hand on Michael’s shoulder, the other moving up to cup his cheek. Michael’s lips moved with Danny’s, the kiss becoming more intense.

Danny’s tongue was soon in Michael’s mouth, and their bodies were flush together. Keeping his hands on Danny’s waist, Michael slowly stepped back until felt the bed behind him, at which point he fell back and pulled Danny down on top him. The older boy was surprised by the motion, giving Michael a playful look. “What’re you doing?”

“Keeping warm,” Michael smiled up at Danny before pulling him in for another kiss. Danny didn’t seem to mind as he continued to use his tongue to play with Michael’s. The younger boy ran his hands up Danny’s body, sliding his shirt up slightly, hands coming to rest up around the older boy’s neck, one hand fingering through his short dark hair, the other gripping his shoulder.

Moving from Michael’s mouth, Danny began to trail kisses along his jaw and down his neck, sucking and biting gently at the now-warm flesh. Michael’s head tipped back, small gasps of breath caused by Danny’s actions. He could feel Danny’s hands at his hips, thumbs slipping under the top of his jeans. Was he going to insist Michael take those off too?

He didn’t have time to find out, as the door was pushed open and Lydia walked into the room. “Mich-AH!” she squealed, spinning to put her back to the boys on the bed. Danny quickly scrambled off of Michael, and the blonde sat up, pulling the towel tightly around him.

“Lydia!” He yelled, recognising the girl through his slightly blurred vision. He reached for his glasses, which Danny had dried off before bring them up, and put them on. “Can’t you knock?” he asked as he stood from the bed and hurried over to the girl.

Turning around, Lydia glared up at Michael. “I came to tell you that I called your mom, told her what happened, and that being the amazing friend that I am, sent you to bed so you didn’t catch pneumonia or something!” She crossed her arms defiantly over her chest, staring Michael down.

“I…” Michael was lost for words, and looked back to Danny for help, who just shrugged. “I’m sorry,” he sighed, giving Lydia an apologetic smile. “And thank you.”

Lydia’s expression softened, and she gave Michael’s arm a gentle squeeze. “You still feel cold… you’re okay, yeah?” Michael nodded, smiling gratefully at the girl.

“I’m fine. Danny’s looked after me.” Michael glanced back to Danny, seeing the older boy smiling in his direction.

“I saw.” Lydia’s knowing grin made the blonde blush lightly. “You should rest,” she said before turning and walking back to the door. “Make sure he rests,” she called over her shoulder to Danny, before leaving the room and pulling the door shut behind her.

Michael sighed and turned, walking back over to the bed and sitting down. “Sorry about her,” he said, looking up at Danny, who moved to sit next to him.

“It’s cool, she just cares about you,” the older boy said, putting his arm around Michael’s waist. “And she’s right, you should rest. Have you got anything you can sleep in that isn’t soaked through?”

Michael nodded. “I’ve got a couple things I keep here when I stay over,” Michael said, getting to his feet and walking to a chest of drawers filled with men’s clothes. Most of it was Jacksons, but Michael had a couple bits. He pulled out a pair of clean underwear and some pyjama shorts, and quickly changed into them, hoping that Danny would be a gentleman and not look.

When he turned around, Danny was standing at the window, looking down at the party outside. “Do you wanna go back down there?” Michael asked, getting the feeling that Danny would rather be having fun than babysitting him.

Danny turned around at the question, and Michael noticed the boy’s eyes looking up and down his body. “No,” he answered, closing the window blinds. “Lydia said I should make sure you rest,” Danny walked over to the light switch, flicking it and bathing the room in darkness. “And besides, I wanna get to know you better, and this seems as good a time as any.”

Michael wandered over to the bed, turning on the small lamp to give a little illumination to the room as he climbed into the bed. He never would have imagined Danny would be so sweet. Nor that he would look so good undressing. The boy had taken off his shirt and thrown it aside, and was now slipping out of his jeans, leaving him standing in grey trunks that left little to the imagination.

Danny laughed lightly as he saw Michael looking at him, and walked over to the bed, lifting the covers and sliding in next to him. “We can save that for later,” he joked, putting his arm around Michael and pulling him in close. “For tonight, let’s just talk.” Michael smiled as he cuddled into Danny and draped an arm across his stomach.

“Sounds good to me.”

* * *

Michael and Danny talked for hours, talking about anything they could think of. Family, pets, favourites, funny times and sad times, anything. Michael couldn’t remember if the party had still been going on by the time they eventually fell asleep, but Danny stayed with him the whole night, and even walked Michael home from Lydia’s the next day.

Unfortunately for Michael, Kathleen saw the boys coming, and once he was inside, she barraged him with questions: who was he, how did they meet, were they safe? Michael felt the embarrassment of the previous night all over again. After assuring her that nothing beyond kissing happened with him, Kathleen finally got on to asking Michael about falling in the pool. Despite his claims that he felt fine now, she made him take medicine for cold and flu all weekend.

After school on Monday, as Michael was getting his skates out of his locker, Danny stopped as he was passing. “How’re you feeling?” he asked, leaning his side on the lockers.

“I’m fine, Mom had me doped up all weekend, so I’m probably not gonna be ill for the next decade,” Michael joked, earning a laugh from Danny.

“So you’re healthy enough for a second date sometime then?” Michael couldn’t quite pin the look on Danny’s face, but it looked almost… hopeful. Maybe things were turning around.

“Definitely healthy enough,” Michael answered, closing his locker.

“Good. How about we catch a movie some time?” Danny stepped away from the lockers, standing straight in front of Michael.

“Well, it can’t be anything scary. Can’t have you getting scared, can we?” he teased, taking a step closer to Danny, who’s hand came up to rub his arm.

“I think I could handle a scary movie, so long as I had a hand to hold.” Danny’s hand slid slowly down Michael’s arm, and reaching his hand threaded their fingers together. “Sound good?”

“Very good.” Giving his hand a squeeze, Michael leant forward to quickly give Danny a peck on the lips. “Text me the details later… or just text me later.” He squeezed Danny’s hand again before letting go and walking away.

“So that was cute.” Michael turned to the voice and saw Allison at his side, walking with him towards the exit. “Guessing things went well Friday night then?”

“After he fished me out of the pool, yeah, they got better.” The look of surprise on Allison’s face made him realise she didn’t know about him falling in the pool, so he quickly filled her in.

“Wow, sounds eventful,” she whistled.

“Yeah, just a bit,” Michael chuckled. “How was your night with Scott?” he asked, nudging her gently with his elbow.

“Don’t ask,” she replied, sounding annoyed. Now it was Michael’s turn to be confused.

“What happened?” he asked as he held the door open for Allison.

“He just left me there, stranded. He looked like he was having a migraine or something, then ran out to his car and drove off,” she explained, standing patiently while Michael sat down to pull on his skate gear.

“Sounds rough,” Michael commented as he stood up. “But he probably had a really good reason. I doubt he’d have done it just to be mean or something.” Looking back over Allison’s shoulder, Michael caught sight of the boy in question, who was heading in their direction. “He’s coming over,” he warned Allison, looking back to her. “Just hear him out. Then make up your mind.” Michael gave her a comforting smile and squeeze of the shoulder, before turning and starting to skate away. Turning a corner and heading down the sidewalk, Michael looked back through the chain-link fence to where Allison and Scott were talking. He smiled, and looked away, quickly moving down the sidewalk towards home. A gentle buzz in his pocket made him grin, and Michael sped up, eager to get home.


	3. 1x02 - Second Chance at First Line

Once Michael was home, the first thing he did was check his phone. Just as he hoped, a text from Danny was waiting to be read. It was a simple text, just saying hello, but it still made Michael’s stomach flutter slightly. Getting on with some reading, he continued to text with Danny, who being at practice didn’t reply immediately, but once he had finished practice, they soon got onto the topic of what movie they should go and see. Looking at the listings, Michael had to admit that none of them really took his fancy, and was eventually relieved to hear that Danny thought the same.

Then seemingly out of nowhere a text from Lydia came through.

**_'Hey Mikey, some of us are going out after the game on Saturday. Jackson and I are gonna be there, he’s inviting Danny, I’m inviting you and Allison, and Allison’s going to invite Scott, who’s probably gonna bring his weird friend along. If Danny asks you to go, act surprised okay? xx’_ **

_'Thanks Lydia. xx’_

Michael couldn’t be more thankful for a friend like Lydia. She was like a sister to him, and she always seemed to be looking out for him. Meanwhile, Danny and Michael continued to text through the night, until Michael eventually gave into sleep and nodded off, phone still in his hand.

The next day in school, as Michael was swapping out some books in his locker, Danny stopped by next to him.

“So you’re going to come and watch the game Saturday night, right? It’s the first game of the season.” Danny said, giving Michael a half-smile.

“I’d heard about it, yeah,” Michael grinned, closing the locker and turning to look at Danny. “Thought I might check it out. There’s this one guy on the team who’s really hot and I thought I’d try and get him to notice me.”

“I think he’s already noticed you,” Danny said, stepping a little closer as he played along with Michael.

“Really? What does he think of me?” Michael teased further, looking up slightly to meet Danny’s eyes.

“He likes what he sees.” Danny closed the small remaining distance and kissed Michael lightly on the lips. “So you’ll come?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Michael said with a laugh.

“Good. And hey, a bunch of us are going out after, wanna come with?” Danny asked, once again sounding more hopeful that Michael would’ve expected.

“Really? I had no idea, I mean, such a lovely offer and-”

“Lydia already told you didn’t she?” Danny accused.

“Yes, yes she did,” Michael admitted, grinning to himself.

“You don’t wanna be an actor, do you?” the taller boy questioned, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“Are you trying to say my performance was something less than Oscar-worthy?” Michael asked, dramatically raising a hand to his chest in shock. “Quite frankly, I’m offended.” He turned his head away just as dramatically, before opening one eye and looking to Danny, who was suppressing a laugh. “Yeah, maybe acting’s not for me.” Suddenly, the ring of the bell echoed through the school. “Right, I have a class to get to, so I will see you later.” With that, Michael quickly pecked Danny on the cheek before hurrying off to his next class.

* * *

That evening, Michael was over at Lydia’s place, the two of them studying together. He was struggling slightly in his math and Lydia was helping him to understand where he’d been going wrong. He was always amazed at how smart Lydia was, but more so by the fact that she chose to hide it so much. She was probably the most popular girl at school, there’s no way she’d get bullied for being smart, just praised in a whole new way.

His brain starting to ache, Michael pushed the book in front of him away, and reached for one of the cookies that sat on a plate on Lydia’s bed. “So how’s Jackson?” he asked before taking a bite. He’d heard from both Lydia and Danny that Jackson and Scott had practically had a brawl during practice, the former of the two coming off much worse.

“Doctors say he’ll be fine, and he’s going to play Saturday. He won’t be on top form though, so the brute that injured him had better pick up the slack,” she replied, picking up a cookie for herself and breaking a piece off. Michael could sympathise with Scott, as there were numerous times that he’d wanted to injure Jackson, but he just lacked the strength and nerve to do it. He figured Jackson probably brought it on himself and Scott had a good reason to, but he decided he’d keep that to himself.

“Where are we meant to be going after the game?” Michael asked, leaning his head back against the bed. Glancing up, he could just about see the top of Lydia’s head, which was looking in his direction.

“Not sure yet,” she answered, fingering a curl of her hair absentmindedly. “Once we’re decided you’ll know, don’t worry.” With that, she moved to lie on her front, now closer to Michael. “I noticed that you and Danny seem to be quite interested in each other?”

When he was with Danny, he mostly felt calm, a little nervous, but pretty okay, but now his best friend was here asking him about it, he could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. “Would’ve been hard for you not to after you walked in on us Friday night,” he joked.

“Well when I came in, I didn’t expect you two to be ripping each other’s clothes off, did I?” she defended, glaring slightly at her friend. “I sent him up to make sure you were okay, not so you could get busy.”

"To be fair, he kissed me first,” Michael said in an attempt to defend his and Danny’s actions.

Lydia silently glared at Michael for a moment before speaking again. “Was he a good kisser?”

“Yeah.”

“Did he make you do anything?”

“No,” Michael said quickly, a little offended on Danny’s behalf that Lydia would accuse him of such.

Her eyes narrowed at him. “Okay, then.” Finishing her cookie, she picked up a textbook and began to quiz Michael on the questions. He’d barely gotten halfway through the first question, when there was a knock on the door and Lydia’s mother stepped into the room.

“Lasagne will be ready in an hour,” Natalie said, looking to her daughter. She then looked down to where Michael sat on the floor. “Will you be joining us for dinner?”

“No thank you, Mrs Martin, Mom wants me home for dinner tonight,” Michael answered, smiling up at her.

Leaning against the doorframe, Natalie gave Michael a warm smile. “How many times do I have to tell you, please call me Natalie.”

“At least one more time, like always,” Michael grinned. While he had known Lydia for years now, and therefore known her mother for just as long, and it would probably be pretty natural for him to call her Natalie, he always thought it would feel weird to start calling her by her first name.

“You’re too polite,” Natalie commented with a small laugh. “How is Kathleen, is she doing well? Haven’t seen her for a while.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah, she’s good. All the planning and assessment she has to do gets her bogged down, that’s probably why. I’ll tell her you asked, it might remind her that she needs to have her own life too.” Michael quickly glanced to the clock on Lydia’s wall, and was surprised by the time. “I should probably get going anyway,” he said as he rose to his feet and began to collect his books into his backpack. Ready to leave, Michael hugged Lydia goodbye, saying he’d see her tomorrow, and quickly hugged Mrs Martin, promising to get his mother to get in touch.

It was darker than Michael would’ve liked it to have been while he walked home, but given that it was January and he’d completely lost track of time, he only really had himself to blame. Lydia had offered to give him a ride home, but he didn’t want to put her out, so insisted on walking. It wasn’t a long walk anyway, barely fifteen minutes.

His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie, trying to keep warm as he walked quickly down the street. Michael could see his own breath in the air in front of him, and the cold was definitely starting to set in. He was quietly confident that he wouldn’t catch a cold though given how much medicine his mom had pumped into him after falling into the pool. _‘What I wouldn’t give for a hot chocolate right now,’_ he thought to himself, imagining the warmth of the cup seeping into his hands and body.

Usually he’d have a pair of headphones on and be listening to music as he walked home, but he had stupidly forgotten to pick them up before leaving home this morning, and having gone straight to Lydia’s after school, he’d had no chance to pick them up. If he’d had them, he might not have noticed the sound of something landing on a dumpster in an alley he was passing. But he did hear it.

Turning his head to look down the alley, he saw standing on the crumpled lid of a closed dumpster a large shadowed figure down on all fours. Michael froze, taking in the size of whatever creature was hidden in the dark. The creature’s head eventually looked up, fierce red eyes staring down at Michael. He wanted to run, but he had no idea where to. It was so late that only a few shops would be open for him to take shelter in, and he was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be able to get to any of them before the creature could get to him.

Michael stared at the creature for a moment, trying to gather as much courage as he could, before starting to run hell for leather down the sidewalk. He heard the thud of the creature jumping from the dumpster to the ground as it gave chase, and Michael was inspired to try and run even faster.

If he’d had his skates, he might’ve had a better chance, but Michael didn’t have to look back to know that the beast chasing him was getting closer. As he came to another alley, he ducked inside, running down it. He could see a dumpster parked at an angle against a chain link fence, so quickly climbed over the dumpster and hide behind it, his back against a chain link fence and a brick wall.

He tried to breathe as quietly as he could when he heard the footfalls and snuffling of the creature as it moved slowly down the alley. It was almost like it was playing with Michael, wanting him to run. But Michael was too scared to run now, instead just shivering and holding himself behind the dumpster, which was suddenly ripped out of the way by the beast, rolling aside and tipping over, spilling its contents to the concrete.

Michael looked up in horror as the creature loomed over him, lifting itself to stand on its back legs. The now-bipedal creature was hunched over, lips pulled back to reveal lethal fangs. Michael could see it was covered head-to-toe in dark fur, and had razor-sharp claws on the ends of its fingers and toes. It raised a clawed hand, ready to strike at the boy.

Michael screamed, throwing his arms in front of his face. Suddenly, there was an intense white light, which blinded Michael for a moment. He heard the beast in front of him roar, and the fence rattling, and when he lowered his arms, he saw the creature on the other side of the fence running off into shadows. Once it was out of sight, Michael let out the biggest breath, leaning back against the wall as he sat on the ground.

Once he had regained his composure, he pushed himself up from the ground and began to carry on walking home. By the time he was home, Michael had managed to convince himself that he had imagined the whole thing, putting it down to stress from school setting in already.

Walking into the kitchen, Kathleen looked up from the cooking pot in front of her to her son, giving him a wide smile. “Just in time, I was about to dish up-” Her smile faded and she began to look concerned. “You’re looking kind of pale, sweetie, are you okay?”

Michael nodded, walked over to her and lifted his arms around his mom to hug her. “Yeah, I’m just cold,” he answered, glad to feel Kathleen’s arms come around and squeeze him.

“Ooh, you are a bit,” she said, giving him another squeeze. “Let’s get some nice warm food in you, that’ll do the trick,” she stepped back, and gave Michael a gentle push towards a chair.

As they sat and began to eat, Michael started to feel himself warm up, and despite Kathleen’s probing, Michael insisted that it was just the cold that had gotten to him on the way home. That didn’t stop her from ushering Michael up to bed for an early night after dinner. That night, Michael dreamt of being chased by a large fur-covered creature, which was eventually scared off by a winged figure bathed in light.

* * *

In the cool Saturday evening, Michael was sat in the stands at the field at school, ready and waiting for the lacrosse game to start. Having learned his lesson about how cold January was being, Michael was wearing a dark leather jacket over his hoodie, as well as black woollen gloves and a dark green woollen beanie. Kathleen had offered to go with Michael to the game, but he wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to formally introduce Danny to his mother quite yet.

Hearing a familiar voice say his name, Michael turned his head to see Allison, dressed in a beige coat with a red beanie atop her head. It was clearly more for warmth than as a fashion statement, as her brunette hair fell in gentle curls past her shoulders. Behind her was an older man with short greying hair and dressed in a black coat and brown jeans.

“Hey Allison,” Michael greeted her with a smile and wave. Leaving a space for Lydia, the two of them sat down. “I’m guessing this is your dad?” Michael asked, gesturing to the man at her side.

“Yeah, he is. Dad, this is Michael,” she said, looking from Michael to her father.

“Nice to meet you, son,” he said, extending a hand to Michael, which he shook firmly.

“You too, Mr Argent,” Michael replied.

“Polite, I like it.” He looked to his daughter. “Why can’t you like him?”

“Dad!” Allison balked, eyes widening in surprise. Michael couldn’t stop himself from laughing, which drew Chris’ eye.

“Is something wrong with my daughter?” he asked, voice becoming gravelly and stern.

“Oh, no, not at all, she’s lovely. She just isn’t my type,” Michael explained, finding the situation funnier by the second.

"And what does that mean?” Chris pushed.

“She’s a girl, and girls aren’t my type.” And the penny dropped. Chris’ face immediately softened, and he found the funny side to the misunderstanding.

"Sorry about that,” he said, a grin on his face. “Hope you’re not offended.”

“Not at all, sir.” With that, Michael looked back towards the pitch, where he could see Lydia talking to Scott as he waited for her to join him, but she was soon back, dropping into place between Allison and himself. She was wearing a dark blue coat, her orange hair cascading down her back. She had a pair of leopard-print earmuffs on her head, which Michael found both amusing and a source of envy – while his beanie covered his ears, they weren’t kept nearly as warm.

“What were you saying to Scott?” Michael asked her as she sat down.

“Oh, just reminding him to do his best, and that if he doesn’t and makes the team lose, he’ll regret it,” she answered, flashing him a smile.

“Y’know, you can be scary sometimes,” Michael said, laughing slightly.

“I know, great isn’t it?” Lydia grinned. Reaching between their chairs, Lydia drew out a large piece of card that had ‘WE LUV U JACKSON’ written on it in big letters.

Michael laughed at the sight of it. “You’re crazy if you think I’m holding that up with you.” This earned a glare from Lydia, but she didn’t question it.

A moment later, the game had begun. The Cyclones were off to a good start, getting first move on the ball, passing it a number of times as it was run down the field. As one of the players was tackled by one of the opposing team, a cry of “Ooh” rang out from the stands. One of the Cyclones made a dash for the ball, but was tackled by another Cyclone, who scooped up the ball. Seeing the number on the tackler’s shirt, Michael knew it was Jackson, which didn’t entirely surprise him as he could believe Jackson taking out someone on his own team to take the glory for himself.

Jackson ran the ball the rest of the way, and hurled it into the goal. Cheers erupted from the stands, and despite his crappy behaviour, Michael, Lydia and Allison were on their feet cheering. A goal was a goal, after all. Lydia turned to Allison, and then the pair were holding up the giant sign, hollering and screaming for Jackson. Michael rolled his eyes, which Allison caught sight of and laughed.

Michael noticed Danny walking out of goal towards Jackson, and gave the older boy a wave as Danny looked in his direction. He gave a small wave back, and after talking to Jackson and a couple other players, soon retreated back into the goal position.

The game continued on, the Cyclones managing to score another two points, but the opposition was hot on their heels, soon surpassing them to get five points. Michael could imagine that Danny wasn’t feeling too great right now – while he’d managed to save a few goals, letting in five was going to weigh on him. After the enemy’s last goal and the Cyclones now losing by two, the game was getting ready to resume.

“Which one is Scott again?” Mr Argent asked to the group.

“Number 11,” Lydia answered. “Otherwise known as the only one who hasn’t caught a single ball this entire game.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Allison said quietly, nervously fidgeting with the sleeve of the jumper she wore under her coat.

“I hope we’re okay,” Lydia added. The score wasn’t looking great for the Cyclones, who needed to make up three points with a minute and twenty-nine seconds left on the clock.

“Well, be fair Lydia,” Michael challenged his friend. “No-one’s passed to him. He can’t catch it if no-one’s throwing it his way.”

“You’re right,” Allison agreed, giving him a small smile.

“Well, if he commanded more of a presence, maybe he’d get more opportunities,” Lydia reasoned. “We need to win this.” She was on her feet again, and had flipped the sign around. On this side, it read ‘JACKSON is #1’. “Allison? A little help here” she said, nudging the girl to her left. Allison looked up at her before standing reluctantly to help hold the sign in the air.

A moment later, the whistle was blown, and after the first challenge for the ball, it was launched into the air. Something seemed to have lit a fire within Scott, as he leapt for the ball, caught it in his net and took off at a dash down the pitch. He managed to evade five members of the other team on his way down the field before pitching the ball into the goal, earning the Cyclones their fourth point with one minute and five seconds left on the clock.

Everyone was on their feet cheering, Michael included, but he noticed Lydia seemed distinctly annoyed that they had gotten another point. “C’mon, Lyd,” he said, nudging her. “We’re pulling it back; we could win this!”

She began to clap, but didn’t stand. “We’d better.”

The ball was reset and the whistle blown, the enemy team winning the challenge, passing the ball, and getting ready to run it down the field. But the opposition’s player froze, standing in front of Scott. He was still for a moment, before to everyone’s surprise, he passed Scott the ball. Scott caught it, and took off running down the pitch again, which had everyone cheering with excitement.

Scott was tearing down the field, dodging each attempt to impede him. Nearing the goal, he tossed the ball. It looked like the opposing goalie was going to catch it, but the ball tore through his net into the goal behind, scoring point number five with thirty-nine seconds left in the game. Yet again, the crowd was on its feet, and Michael was eagerly joining in with the celebrating, high-fiving Allison over Lydia’s head.

Michael had never been a sports fan before, but now he was starting to understand how people enjoyed it – the rush of energy as your team gets close and the euphoria when a shot lands. It was like a wave of emotion billowing from the crowd, which the players must feed off of to inspire them to win.

With less than a minute to go, the Cyclones just need one more point to win. The ball was reset, and a player from each team positioned to play for it. Jackson was at the struggle for the ball, but it was fumbled and rolled away from both of them. Scott scooped it up and began to run, but soon stopped. He was looking around, seeing each opposing player that was moving in around him, but why he had stopped was a mystery.

“What’s wrong with him?” Michael asked, getting to his feet to try and see something.

“What’s right would be an easier question to answer,” Lydia jabbed, getting a swat on the arm from Michael.

“Don’t be mean, it doesn’t suit you.” There was less than twenty seconds left now, and both Michael and Allison were urging Scott to play.

“You can do it, Scott,” she said quietly, as if willing her voice to his ear.

Five seconds left…

Two of the enemy players began to run at Scott, who looked frantically from one to the other. Scott wound up his swing, then hurled the ball towards the goal, sailing it past the goalie and into the net.

The whistle blew and the stands erupted into cheers of joy at the Cyclones’ win. People started to walk down onto the pitch, congratulating their friends or children on a win well earned. While Lydia stalked off to find Jackson, Michael and Allison walked onto the field, each towards their respective guys.

Michael ran over to the goal and threw his arms around Danny, who held onto him tightly. “You did it, you won!” he cried, squeezing Danny before stepping back.

Danny pulled his helmet off, and Michael was surprised to see him look annoyed and almost angry. “We’d have done better if I hadn’t let them score five times,” he groaned, tossing his helmet aside.

“Hey,” Michael said quietly, stepping close again and reaching up to cup Danny’s cheek with a gloved hand. “Sure you let five in. But how many did you stop?”

“I don-”

“You stopped loads. If it wasn’t for you, we’d have had our asses handed to us. You did good.” Danny looked at Michael for a moment before a smile appeared on his lips.

“Thanks,” he said, before putting his hands on Michael’s waist, pulling him close and kissing him.

* * *

It turned out that ‘going out after the game’ didn’t mean immediately after the game like Michael had imagined, but on Tuesday. Seeing as Tuesday was technically after the game, Michael couldn’t really argue. Instead, he just waited patiently outside the locker room for Danny to change. Once the older boy re-joined him, they made their way out to the parking lot where Danny’s car waited.

“So it looks like I’m free tonight. Is there anything you’d like to do?” Michael asked coyly, leaning against the passenger door of Danny’s car.

“There are lots of things I’d like to do,” he started, moving close and dragging his hand slowly down Michael’s arm. “But not tonight. Tonight, I’m just gonna give you a ride home.”

Michael pouted slightly. “How do you know I don’t wanna do those things too?” he challenged.

“Oh, I know you do, you gave me that impression at Lydia’s party,” Danny grinned. “But until we've either got a house to ourselves or I get a more comfortable car, it can wait.”

“Fine,” Michael relented, stepping back from the door and opening it. “But for the record, I’m not too opposed to the car idea.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Danny said, putting his hand on Michael’s head and pushing him down to get in the car. He chucked his lacrosse gear into the back before getting into the driver’s seat and pulling off, taking Michael home.


	4. 1x03 - Pack Mentality

_Michael was flying high above town below, looking down and watching the lights flit past like fireflies. He wasn’t sure where he was going, or how he was flying, but he didn’t care. He blew through the air like he’d been doing it his whole life._

_He dove down low and flew down the road, swiftly moving in and out of traffic with ease. The cars seemed unresponsive to his presence – maybe he was invisible too? Regardless, he let himself float on, and after some random turns and stretches of road, he soared back into the sky. Spinning on the spot, he began to glide in a random direction, and soon found himself floating over the school. It was fairly quiet, but something drew him towards the parking lot._

_The only vehicles there were school buses, and they were all accounted for, but one looked like it was shaking. Michael gently lowered down, not sure why he was getting close, but his curiosity pushed him to investigate. He could hear noises from inside, growls and screams, and they chilled him to the bone._

_Trying to see through the glass, Michael could barely see a thing, but then suddenly the backdoor to the bus burst open and something jumped out. It looked like a person, but they were hunched over, and Michael could hear them growling. It stood there for a moment, before running off on all fours away from the bus and into the night._

_Michael finally found the ability to move again, and drifted around to the door. There were streaks of blood around the door, long scratch marks on the metal, and Michael knew he should get away, but he still floated inside. Putting his feet to the metal floor of the bus, he walked down slowly. He called out, but there was no sound, his voice useless. He could hear a whimpering from towards the bus’s main door, and getting closer, he saw a man lying in a pool of blood, which judging by the claw marks across him, was his own. His vision was then suddenly engulfed in a white light._

The light faded, and opening his eyes, Michael found himself lying in bed looking up at the ceiling above him. He sat up slowly, and rubbed his eyes, before looking to the small digital clock on his bedside. _22:47_. He’d barely been asleep an hour. Having decided to get an early night, Michael certainly hadn’t expected to wake up again so soon.

Michael tried to remember his dream, but it had already begun to fade, only able to remember the bright light that had woken him. He looked around his room, but there wasn’t anything around that could’ve caused it. Unless his bedroom light had turned itself on, but that wasn’t too likely. Michael reached for his phone, set some soft music playing quietly, and lay back down, soon falling asleep again.

* * *

Monday morning, Michael was skating to school as usual, the cold air blowing around him. He was starting to think that maybe he should ask Lydia to give him a ride to school, at least while it was still chilly. Nearing the school, he saw a bunch of people crowded around the parking lot, which as well as the usual amount of student cars and buses, also had a couple of police cars around this morning.

Deciding to investigate, Michael skated towards the parking lot. Getting closer, he could see that the commotion seemed to be around one of the buses. Something felt familiar to Michael, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Moving to see what was going on, Michael saw a bent and broken door torn open, as well as dark streaks of blood against the bright yellow of the bus.

The familiar feeling was growing now, but Michael still couldn’t think why. Seeing a girl nearby who was in his biology class, he tapped her on the shoulder. “What’s happened there?” he asked as he turned to look at him.

“No idea, the police won’t say,” she answered, looking from Michael to the bus. “I think I heard someone say animal attack?” she said, sounding unsure.

“What about the blood? Was someone hurt?” Michael pressed.

“They won’t say. Which pretty much means yeah, someone was.” Michael had to agree there.

Thanking the girl, Michael skated to a nearby bench and sat down to take his gear off. As he was pulling his sneakers on, he saw Scott and his cute friend walk out of the building and freeze at the sight of the bus. “Crazy, isn’t it?” he said after walking towards them.

“Yeah,” the cute boy answered, not taking his eyes off the bus. Scott, on the other hand, looked at Michael.

“Do they know what happened?” he asked, looking slightly worried.

“Animal attack, apparently. Though don’t quote me there.” This answer apparently did nothing to calm Scott’s nerves. “Don’t worry,” Michael said, patting Scott’s shoulder lightly. “If it was, all the noise will keep it away.” Scott just nodded, and Michael gave the two a smile before heading inside to put his skate gear away.

As he was putting his skates away and pulling out a couple textbooks, Principal Thomas’ voice crackled out of the school’s PA system. _“Attention students, this is your principal. I know you’re all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses, but while the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled.”_ While he wasn’t part of it, the agonised groan that came from everyone amused Michael. _“Thank you.”_ The message ended, Michael closed his locker, and made his way to his English class.

* * *

Michael was glad when lunch rolled around. Something about today felt off, and hopefully food would be a good cure for that. Gathering himself a tray, some food and a drink, he looked around the cafeteria for a friendly face, and spotted Lydia sitting down next to Scott. Walking towards the same table, Michael plonked himself down to the left of Scott’s friend, and the other seats nearby filled quickly, Jackson, Danny and Allison joining the group, though Jackson had kicked someone else out to take his place.

Michael looked past Scott’s friend to Danny, who glanced his way then towards Jackson. Michael raised an eyebrow, confused as to why the boy who was meant to be interested in him was blowing him off, but decided to ignore it.

“So I hear they’re saying it’s some type of animal attack,” Danny said, looking to Jackson.

“I heard the same earlier,” Michael added.

“Probably a cougar?” Danny suggested.

“I heard mountain lion,” Jackson said, sounding very sure of himself.

“Cougar is a mountain lion,” Lydia stated, making Jackson give her a strange look. “Isn’t it?” she quickly added. Michael rolled his eyes. He knew Lydia knew it was, and was just pretending to have guessed. He wished she had owned it and made Jackson look an idiot, but he was sure she had her reasons, and it wasn’t for him to question them.

“Who cares? The guy’s probably some homeless tweaker who’s gonna die anyway,” Jackson said dismissively. Michael found it hard to believe he could be so heartless. Homeless tweaker or not, he was a person with feelings.

“Actually, I just found out who it is,” the cute boy to Michael’s right said, looking around the table to everyone. “Check it out.” Setting his phone where everyone at the table could see, he began to play a news clip.

_“The sheriff’s department won’t speculate on details of the incident,”_ the news anchor said, over a clip of the sheriff examining the bus. _“But confirmed the victim, Garrison Myers, did survive the attack.”_ A photo of the victim appeared, a blonde, older man in a suit. _“Myers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition.”_

“I know this guy,” Scott said, looking up from the phone to his friend.

“You do?” Allison questioned.

“Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad.” Michael picked at his food as he listened to Scott. “He was the driver.”

“Can we talk about something slightly more fun please,” Lydia griped, clearly sick of talking about what had happened to the driver. Michael had to agree, it wasn’t the best lunch-time conversation he’d ever had. “Like… oh, where we’re going tomorrow night?”

“Finally, someone’s asking the important questions,” Michael joked, earning a grin from Allison, who then turned to look at Lydia.

“You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?” Lydia asked.

“Uh, we were thinking of what we were gonna do,” Allison answered, setting down her fork.

“Well, I am not sitting home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the six of us are hanging out, we’re doing something fun.” As she spoke, Lydia glanced from Jackson, to Danny, then Michael, Allison and Scott.

“Hanging out? Like the six of us?” Scott seemed surprised, as if this was the first he had heard of this. Michael raised an eyebrow as he glanced to Lydia who glared at him with a smile. Pulling his phone out, Michael quickly sent her a text.

_‘I thought this had already been decided? Did you invite us all without asking them?’_

“Do you wanna hang out, like us and them?” Scott asked Allison

**_‘Does that really matter now?’_ **

“Yeah, I guess” she answered, a small smile on her face. “Sounds fun.”

_‘Why do you use your powers for evil?’_

“Do you know what else sounds fun?” Jackson asked as he reached for a fork. “Stabbing myself in the face with this fork.” It was soon snatched out of his hand by Lydia, who gave Michael a sly grin as she sent her next text.

**_‘It’s more fun. ;)’_ **

Michael rolled his eyes again, and pocketed his phone.

“How about bowling? You love to bowl,” Lydia suggested, looking at Jackson. Clearly what anyone else who was going loved was not an option.

“Yeah, with actual competition,” Jackson said in an attempt to shoot the idea down in flames.

“Scared you’ll lose?” Michael teased Jackson before taking a sip of his water.

“Yeah,” Allison agreed, smiling at Michael before looking to Jackson. “How do you know we’re not actual competition?” She glanced to Scott. “You can bowl, right?”

“Sort of?” Scott offered, not sounding too confident.

“Is it sort of, or yes?” Jackson challenged, leaning across the table to look at Scott. He had that arrogant I’m-better-than-you look on his face that Michael hated, and he began to wonder how it would look after having a bowling ball thrown at it.

“Yes,” Scott answered, sounding much more confident now. “In fact, I’m a great bowler.”

“It’s decided then!” Lydia chimed, looking pleased with herself. “Bowling tomorrow night. Can’t wait.”

The rest of lunch passed with talk of classes and other frivolous gossip. Still curious as to why Danny seemed to have snubbed him earlier, Michael tried to talk to him before the bell rang for class, but the older boy just said that he’d talk later, kissed him on the cheek, and left. Still confused, but slightly happier about the kiss, Michael let it slide, and made his way to his first afternoon class.

* * *

Come Tuesday evening, and despite the curfew in place, Michael told his mom that he’d be staying the night at Lydia’s, who reluctantly agreed, and told Michael to invite Lydia and her mom over for dinner some time so the four of them could properly catch up.

Lydia and Michael were at Allison’s house now, initially for studying, but things swiftly moved on from that. Michael had been looking at his phone most of the evening, wondering why Danny hadn’t been in contact. He thought the older boy would’ve offered to drive him to the bowling alley, but thankfully he had Lydia.

The girls were deciding what Allison should wear. Lydia was dressed in a brown leather jacket over a dark blue sweater over a sky-blue shirt, dark blue jeans, with brown sneakers. Michael had a red plaid shirt over a grey t-shirt, with blue jeans and black sneakers. His blonde hair hung limply over the top of his forehead, and his blue-framed glasses brightened up his face.

“Pass.”

Michael looked up from his phone to see Allison standing at her wardrobe, holding a patterned blouse in front of her. Michael thought it looked nice, but Lydia apparently disagreed. Allison turned, put it back, and pulled out another, more colourful blouse.

“Pass,” Lydia echoed. “Ugh, let me see,” she said, getting to her feet and walking to the wardrobe. Michael watched her rifle through Allison’s clothes, passing on a few more items. Allison looked back to Michael, looking slightly worried.

“Trust me, she knows what she’s doing. I’d not dress half as well as I do if it weren’t for her,” Michael assured her, giving her a smile.

“Pass on all of it,” Lydia eventually decided. “God, Allison, the stuff of your taste is, uh… dwindling by the second,” she said, laughing.

“Come on, be fair,” Michael chastised her, standing up and walking to the wardrobe. “Some of it looks nice.”

“Michael, you just said I know what I’m doing, and now you question me?” she said, looking over her shoulder to him.

“I’m not questioning you, I’m saying you could be nicer about it,” Michael clarified, earning an eye roll from Lydia. She looked back to the closet, and after a moment, pulled out a black sequined top.

“This,” she said, Allison taking it from her and holding it in front of her as she looked in the mirror.

“Michael?” Allison asked, looking to his reflection.

“Jaws will hit the floor,” he commented, giving her a thumbs up.

There was a door opening, then Allison’s father walked into the room, a green jacket in his hand.

“Dad, hello…” Allison said, looking at him as he pulled the coat on.

He smiled for a moment before realising. “Right, I’m sorry, I completely forgot to knock,” he explained, looking apologetic. Lydia fell dramatically down onto Allison’s bed, and the look on her face sent a shiver down Michael’s spine. The girl was insatiable.

“Hey, Mr Argent,” she said, smiling cheerfully.

“Evening, Mr Argent,” Michael added, smiling at him.

“Dad, do you need something?” Allison probed, looking to her father.

“I wanted to tell you that you’ll be staying in tonight,” he answered, earning a surprised look from Allison, and a defeated one from Lydia.

“What, I’m going out with my friends tonight,” Allison challenged.

“Not when some animal is out there attacking people.”

“I’d like to meet the animal that thinks it could lay a claw on Lydia’s clothes, because it wouldn’t be around long if it did,” Michael joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Dad, I’m su-

“Eh, eh, it’s out of my hands. There’s a curfew, no-one’s allowed out past nine-thirty P.M.” His tone was final, and Allison tossed the black top onto the bed. “Hey,” Chris said, his daughter looking to him. “No more arguing.” Chris turned and left, Allison letting out a large sigh.

“Hm,” Lydia started, rising to her feet. “Someone’s Daddy’s little girl,” she teased.

“Sometimes,” Allison said, looking to Lydia and Michael. “But not tonight.” With that, she pulled a purple woollen beanie off the desk, put it on, and walked to the window. She pulled the curtain back, opened it, and climbed out onto the roof.

Michael and Lydia followed, looking out the window. “What’re you doing?” they said in unison, a second before Allison leapt off the roof, somersaulted in the air and landed on her feet on the ground.

She took a breath before turning to look up to the window. “Eight years gymnastics.” Michael had to admit that he was impressed. “You coming?”

“I’ll take the stairs,” Lydia answered, Michael heartily agreeing. As they left Allison’s room, Lydia gave Michael a side-ways look. “So why couldn’t you take your eyes off your phone tonight?” she asked, Michael surprised that she’d even noticed.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry,” Michael answered, brushing it off. Lydia’s eyes narrowed at him, but she didn’t bring it up again at all on their way out of the house and to the bowling alley.

Jackson and Danny must have come together, as they were already there when Lydia, Allison and Michael arrived, with Scott appearing a few minutes later. The six of them would be sharing a lane, and as they were changing their shoes, Michael decided to pull Danny aside.

“So what was with you at lunch yesterday?” he asked, tying the laces on his shoes while Danny did the same next to him.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he started, and Michael turned his head to see an apologetic look on Danny’s face. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“Can you try?” Michael asked, still wanting an explanation.

“When I’m with you, I’m different. I don’t feel like I have to hide parts of me. But in front of Jackson,” Danny glanced up to where Jackson was now helping Lydia to bowl. “If I start acting all couple-y with you in front of him, he’s going to ride me about it forever. I mean, you must get stick from him all the time, because you don’t worry if you come across too…” he paused.

“Too what?” Michael pushed.

“Too gay,” Danny sighed. “I’m not saying that’s bad or anything, really. I like that you don’t worry, and I wish I was more like that. But you know Jackson, he’s not the kindest person, is he?”

“Maybe not,” Michael started, giving Danny’s knee a squeeze. “But do you know what I do when he starts talking crap?” Danny shook his head. “Ignore him. If I changed how I act or dress or anything about me because of what he says, that only makes him think he’s right. I won’t let him think he’s right. And you shouldn’t either.” At that, Danny’s lips curled into a small smile. “Now I’m going to kiss you, and I don’t give a rat’s ass if Jackson sees it, and nor should you.” Michael grinned as he leant in and pressed his lips to Danny’s.

Pulling away, they glanced over to Jackson, who wasn’t even looking in their direction, too busy watching Allison bowl a strike. “See?” Michael said, looking back to Danny. “Doesn’t even matter.” As Allison sat down between himself and Scott, Michael high-fived her. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” he asked, grinning to her.

“Maybe once or twice,” she answered, smirking.

Lydia let out a happy scream, meaning Jackson must’ve bowled a strike too. Michael hoped there wouldn’t be many, else Jackson’s ego might need another building for all the room it would take up.

“You’re up, McCall.” Michael was confused as to why Scott looked so nervous. Hadn’t he said he was great at bowling? He hoped someone here was going to be better than Jackson, just so the arrogant ass could be put in his place.

“You can do it, Scott,” Allison encouraged him. A small smile on his face, Scott got to his feet, picked up a green ball, and approached the lane. His first swing went into the gutter, and Jackson cruelly laughed.

“Jackson,” Allison said sternly, unimpressed with the boy’s behaviour, but he continued to laugh. “Mind shutting up?” Allison pushed, staring at him.

“Good luck with that one,” Michael commented. “Would need an exploding plane to drown him out.” That earned a stifled laugh from Danny.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Jackson said, controlling his laughter. “I’m just flashing back to the words ‘I’m a great bowler’.”

“Maybe he just needs a little warm up,” said Allison, looking comfortingly to Scott.

“Yeah, maybe he just needs the kiddie bumpers.” Jackson retorted, making Lydia giggle.

“Just, just aim for the middle,” Allison advised Scott, doing her best to ignore Jackson and Lydia.

“How about you aim for anything except for the gutter?” Jackson bullied.

“I dunno, you might knock Jackson’s attitude out of there,” Michael said, grinning to Scott.

“Let him concentrate,” Allison defended, glaring at Jackson. She smiled to Scott, and he turned back to the lane, taking a moment before bowling. It looked to be going well, until it rolled into the gutter just before the pins.

“Ohhh,” Jackson said, laughing to himself. “Great job, McCall. Man, you are a pro.” Scott walked back and sat beside Allison.

Michael was on his feet next, and picked a bright orange ball. “A ball to match your _fabulousness_ ” Jackson teased as Michael walked to the lane.

“Shut it, or I’m letting go of it on the backswing,” Michael said cheerily, earning laughs from all but Jackson.

Michael managed a spare, much to his surprise, and when Danny took his turn, he managed a strike, though Michael hadn’t seen it as he’d been too busy looking at Danny’s ass as he swung. The jeans the older boy had on looked very tight, and made his backside look very good.  “Well done,” he congratulated Danny as the boy sat down next to him. Danny smiled in thanks, putting his arm around Michael’s shoulders.

The game continued on, and out of nowhere, Scott seemed to suddenly improve, where as Michael slowly got worse. While he was taking a turn, Michael leaned over to Allison. “What did you say to him?”

A devious grin grew on Allison’s face. “Told him he should think about something else.” She wiggled an eyebrow suggestively, and Michael got the idea. Looking at Danny, who was walking towards the bathroom, Michael grinned. “Wonder if that would work for me.”

It didn’t. Michael continued to do progressively worse, until about the 8th frame, where he tapered out. Scott, on the other hand, had now scored six consecutive strikes. Danny had been doing fairly well, getting mostly spares and high scores, while Allison and Jackson were fairly evenly matched. Michael was only just ahead of Lydia by a few points, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if Lydia came from behind to overtake him.

Which given the strike that she just bowled, she had done, leaving Michael with the lowest score on the board.

“I think I’m getting the hang of it,” Lydia grinned as she sat down.

“Getting the hang of it?” Michael repeated, astounded.

“That was sort of perfect form.” Allison said, clearly impressed.

“Was it?” Lydia said coyly.

“Maybe you should stop pretending to suck just for his benefit,” Allison whispered, leaning towards Lydia.

“Trust me, I do plenty of sucking just for his benefit,” she said, looking flatly at Allison

“And now I can never look at you the same way again,” Michael groaned, turning his head to hide in Danny’s shoulder, the older boy laughing at his reaction and putting his arm around him.

Michael continued to stay in last place until the end of the game, earning the lowest score of 58. Jackson joked and teased about his lack of ability, while Danny hugged him from behind and told him he’d done well for a beginner.

“I’d kick everyone’s ass on the Wii,” Michael pouted, arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m sure you would,” Danny grinned, kissing Michael’s cheek. “Also,” Danny’s voice lowered to a whisper, “guess whose parents aren’t home tonight?”

A chill of nervous excitement shot down Michael’s spine. He turned in Danny’s arms, looking up to meet his eyes. “Are you suggesting I come back to yours?” he asked coyly.

“I’m suggesting more than that.” Michael’s face reddened and he gave Danny a shy smile.

“Sounds good to me.”

Saying their goodbyes to the four others, Michael soon found himself in Danny’s bedroom, arms around the older boy as they kissed passionately.

Danny was sat at the edge of the bed, Michael straddling his lap. He pushed the red shirt off Michael’s shoulders, then Michael pulled the grey t-shirt off over his head, Danny’s hands smoothing over his body. “Do you have any idea how hot you are?” Danny asked, looking lustily up to Michael.

“Shut up,” Michael pressed his mouth back to Danny’s, pushing him to lie down. As they kissed, Michael rolled his hips against Danny, feeling a growing hardness inside the boy’s jeans to match his own.

A little while later, Michael was lying on the bed in just a tented pair of purple trunks, and Danny was standing naked at the end of the bed. Michael tried not to stare, but couldn’t stop his eyes wandering down to the older boy’s erection.

Moving forward, Danny crept onto the bed, and began to kiss at Michael’s length through his underwear, before pulling them down a moment later, and kissing and licking at it.

Danny soon took it into his mouth, bobbing his head up and down and making Michael gasp and moan, reaching down to run his fingers through Danny’s short dark hair. Michael had never felt such pleasure before, this being his first time doing anything more than kissing.

“Danny,” he groaned, feeling the familiar build-up in his abdomen. Danny either hadn’t heard him or didn’t care, as he continued to take Michael into his mouth, moving quickly up and down his length. “Danny, stop, I’m close...” Danny ignored him, continuing his movements and even speeding up. A moment later, he was gasping Danny’s name as his release came, and he cried out as Danny continued to work him through his orgasm.

Danny eventually stopped, and crawled up to lie next to Michael, kissing him deeply. “Enjoy that?” Danny asked, breaking the kiss.

Michael nodded, still breathing heavily. “So much better than my hand,” he whispered, making Danny laugh.

Looking down to Danny’s crotch, he saw the older boy was stroking himself slowly. “Do you want to try doing me?” Danny asked, seeing Michael look at him.

Michael was nervous, but nodded, and gently pushed Danny to lie on his back. Moving to kneel between his open legs, Michael reached out and gave it a few gentle strokes before leaning down and licking at the length and kissing the tip. Danny’s small gasps, and fingers threading through his blonde hair encouraged him to take the head into his mouth, sucking on his gently and flicking his tongue at it.

He began to bounce his head up and down, taking more and more of Danny into his mouth with each down stroke. He tried to go down to the base of his shaft, but it was too much, and he quickly pulled off, coughing.

“That was so good,” Danny said, looking down to Michael. He frowned slightly, seeing the boy coughing. “Do you wanna keep going?”

Michael nodded, wanting to make Danny feel as good as he’d made Michael feel. “I want to.” Michael went back down, taking Danny into his mouth once more, and now knowing his limits, worked as much of Danny as he could. Before long, Danny’s noises were getting louder, and he warned Michael that he was close.

Wanting to try and impress him, Michael kept going, and was startled by the sudden burst of liquid into his mouth. He was surprised at the taste, having expected not to like it, similar to his own, but Danny’s wasn’t unpleasant. He swallowed as fast as he could, but when he pulled off and looked up to Danny, the boy laughed. Michael was confused, until Danny sat up and reached to Michael’s face, using his thumb to wipe away some that had escaped the corner of his mouth.

“Was that your first time?” the older boy asked.

Michael nodded. “Was it alright?”

“You were great.” Danny smiled, leaning close and kissing Michael.

With both of them satisfied, they were soon under the covers, Michael being spooned by Danny and talking quietly until they fell asleep, where thankfully for Michael, he had no disturbing dreams.


End file.
